Superintendent search set to start

The Calcasieu Parish School Board
unanimously voted Tuesday to approve the superintendent application
packet recommended by
the Superintendent Search Committee, with only a few minor
revisions. R.L. Webb, committee chairman, said that by the board
approving the packet the superintendent position will officially
open Wednesday, March 12.

Revisions to the packet included
changing the salary base from a maximum of $150,000 to a minimum
negotiable salary of $150,000.
Other revisions were to wording, removing personal information
from documents available to the public and changing some advertising
sources.

“I want the very best that we can get
for our children, teachers and administration,” Webb said. “As a
committee, we have
done everything we could to get ready to search for the right
person. We are putting a wide net out there to capture who can
be the best for our school system.”

According to Webb, if print advertising
goes according to the approved schedule, the job will close on May 1.
The law says
the position has to stay open at least 30 days after the last
print advertisement runs, he said. The search committee’s next
meeting will be at 4:45 p.m. March 25 at the central office.

Welding shop

In other business, tempers flared over a
new welding shop for Starks High School. The budget committee voted
last month to
recommended that the board approve construction of a building at a
cost of $600,000, which would be paid for with riverboat
funds.

Board member Jim Karr said the school’s current shop is in disrepair with flooding problems and outdated ventilation. According
to Karr, the welding program at Starks helps provide job-ready graduates for the community.

Board members Clara Duhon and Mack Dellafosse questioned spending such a large amount of money for a small number of students.

“We chose to close Reynaud Middle School with 130 or so kids, but we will spend $600,000 for 15,” Duhon said. “That shows
some bias on this board.”

In response, board member Randy
Burleigh said the board spent more than twice that amount on Reynaud
over the years. “Until
that community decides that they want to change, there won’t be
change,” Burleigh said. “I don’t care how much money we throw
at them. To say that we didn’t do anything, I think that is a slap
in the face, and it’s an outright lie.”

The board ultimately approved the construction of the welding shop, with only Dellafosse and Duhon voting against it.